Berlin Dispatch: All Roads Lead to Hasir

Recently I was trying to explain to someone that you don’t have to speak the local language to go on a taxi adventure. My friends Ryan and Christine can attest to this - they had quite the food quest in Jordan with a cabbie who spoke six words of English.

Still, I don’t think this guy was convinced. “I don’t speak German,” I told him, “So the adventures in Berlin have all been reliant on my cabbies’ knowledge of English. I also asked a Berliner friend to write ‘Please take me to YOUR favorite place to eat’ in German in case the cabbie speaks no English.”

As I was getting ready to start my last taxi adventure, I realized that I hadn’t yet put my friend’s translation to the test. Instead, I’ve been approaching random cabbies with Sprechen Sie Englisch? – and moving on when they shook their heads and waved their arms ‘no.’

Today is going to be different, I decided. I opened my notebook to my friend’s translation and headed to the nearest taxi stand.

The first taxi driver in line was reading the Tagesspiegel when I poked my head in the passenger’s side window and asked him if he spoke English.

Nein.

I showed him my notebook: Bringen Sie mich bitte zu Irhem/Deinem Lieblings Platz für gutes Essen. He read. He furrowed his brow. He looked up at me and said, “Ich bin türke!”

Somehow I made it clear to him that this was a good thing.

When I climbed into the passenger seat, I realized I’d forgotten my German phrasebook at home. But you’d be surprised how much two people who can’t communicate can communicate.

Thanks to sign language and 47 words of German, I learned that Kenan was born in Istanbul, has been driving a cab in Berlin for three years, living in Kreuzberg for 15, and is a father of three kids (ages 15, 11, and 9).

“No English, no problem!” the cabbie said.

I had to agree, especially when he told me that the place he was taking me was “small money” and “for me the best.” We headed down Oranienstraße, and I wondered what the undiscovered gem could be.

I tried to hide my disappointment when Kenan turned left on Adalbertstrasse, stopped in front of Hasir, and threw me a triumphant grin.

I didn’t have the heart (or the German) to tell the cabbie that I’d already eaten there, and that I was hoping to taste something new. When I asked him what to order, he said “alles super.”

I thanked him in German. He said goodbye in English. And I decided to stop fighting the fact that Hasir is actually the best Turkish eatery in Berlin – at least according to the three Turkish cabbies I’ve met so far – and enjoy the chance to dive deeper into the beloved restaurant’s menu.

Fifteen minutes later, I was working my way through a plate of Şiş Yoğurtlu (lamb shish kebab with yogurt and tomato sauce on top of buttered Turkish flatbread). Yes, it was delicious, even though it was seasoned a little too cautiously for my taste. I tried to liven up the bare bones tomato sauce with red chili flakes and eat a piece of grilled green chili with every bite of juicy, tender lamb.

The glass of ayran I ordered at the last moment was my favorite part of the meal. Yogurt mixed with water and salt may not sound like an appetizing drink, but it was a perfect – and I mean perfect – complement to the kebab. You’d be hard-pressed to find a beverage that amps up flavor and soothes the stomach as ayran does. No wonder it’s popular all over the Middle East.

Next time a cabbie brings me to Hasir, I’ll order it again.

Hasir Restaurant
Adalbertstrasse 10 & 12
Kreuzberg 10999 Berlin
Tel 030 616 59 222
Website (with other locations): www.hasir.de

Tags: Berlin Food Adventures, Hasir Restaurant, Kreuzberg, Turkish